Champagne Fresne Ducret

Champagne, France

About Champagne Fresne Ducret

Fresne Ducret is a small, family-owned operation located in the north of Champagne. Unlike the large champagne houses which have grown into multinational corporations, they remain a farm, and do everything themselves. From planting and growing the 14 acres of vines, to harvesting and producing about 30,000 bottles of champagne each year. Over the last ten years, they have been implementing more sustainable techniques in viticulture, and started their conversion to organic farming in 2018. Almost all their vines are located in the picturesque village of Villedommange, which is quite unique and gives their champagnes a sense of place.

Winemaker Pierre Fresne’s great-grandfather started selling non-sparkling wine before World War II. He founded the brand “Fresne Ducret” by combining his last name and Fresne’s great-grandmother’s maiden name. It was Pierre’s grandfather and his brothers who ended up selling their very first bottles of champagne in the late 1940s. Pierre’s father and his cousin joined their dads in the late 1960s, increasing their production and renewing the vineyards. In the late 2000s, after working with them for a few years, Pierre replaced his father on the production side, while His wife Daniella, who happens to be from Ontario, took over the sales and administrative side of the business.

Representative Biography

Pierre Fresne, Winemaker

Pierre was born on Dec. 1st, 1975 - the very day that his grandfather and great-uncle bought their champagne cellars! As a kid growing up near a champagne farm, he remembers playing in the vines, mostly at harvest time and in the cellars while his dad took friends and guests on a tour of the facilities. His parents never put any pressure on him to take over the farm. He ended up wanting to explore the world, and since he had always enjoyed studying English at school, he decided to study the language during University and moved to the UK after he finished his degree. After a couple of years, Pierre started feeling homesick and returned home. That is when Pierre started helping his father on the farm and soon discovered how fulfilling this job was! Pierre went to wine school and completed internships at wineries in Burgundy and New Zealand before returning to work on the farm full-time.

Pierre took over for his father in 2007 when he retired. Since, Pierre has been developing sustainable farming techniques and new cuvees. Most recently they developed a Blanc de Blancs, which is being unveiled this year at the I4C.

“In Champagne, Chardonnay just takes our blends to another level. It brings both finesse and zing, yet still develops marvelous complexity with age… And on its own it’s just splendid.” – Pierre Fresne

Why We're Cool

Not everybody knows that Champagne is the most northerly wine region of France, but at a latitude of 49.2°, Ville Dommange, our village, is at the same latitude as Vancouver. And even though it is not as close to the ocean as the Canadian city, its weather enjoys a maritime influence which allows them to grow grapes. Without the warming influence of the Gulf Stream, winters would just be too harsh for their vines.

Traditionally, in Villedommange winters were mild and wet and summers a succession of hot and cool spells interspersed with the occasional storm. Over the last 15 years, though, summers have been hotter on average and the pinot meunier and pinot noir that were originally planted in the area have been affected by global warming: the wines that are made from the grapes are full-bodied, round and soft, but lack some of the crispiness usually associated with champagne. On the other hand, Chardonnay wines seemed to retain a lot more acidity despite the warmer weather.

In 2005, they started planting more Chardonnay in their rotations and today they have increased their surface area planted with Chardonnay from 5% to more than 15%. Since yields tend to be a bit higher, they end up with proportionally more Chardonnay in their vats, which contributes to the quality of their wines. The characteristics of their Chardonnay is what led them to create a limited-edition Blanc de Blancs.